Dilip Patel proposes 12-room boutique hotel at 1890 mansion

The Stick-Eastlake Mansion, built in 1890 at the corner of Third Street and Leibrandt Street on Beach Hill, will be converted to a boutique hotel if owner Pilip Patel gets approval from the City of Santa Cruz. (Dan Coyro/Sentinel)

SANTA CRUZ -- Hotelier Dilip Patel wants to turn an 1890 mansion at 611 Third St. into a 12-room boutique hotel, and city planners are green-lighting his request for a historic alteration permit.

A public hearing is planned by the Historic Resources Preservation Commission at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in City Hall. 809 Center St. This is the first step in the process.

Patel's proposal also needs special use, design and coastal permits for the hotel use, a variance for lot width and a boundary adjustment to combine two lots into one, all of which will be reviewed by the Planning Commission at a future date.

Designed by LeBaron Olive and owned by Margaret Barfield, a wealthy widow, the 3,250-square-foot, four-bedroom home is in the Stick-Eastlake style, according to historian Ross Eric Gibson. Olive soon after designed the $25,000 "Eastlake" bath palace on Beach Hill with a gingerbread-trimmed veranda, a two-story plunge hall and a balcony with bleachers for spectators.

A 1968 Sentinel report on the mansion described its view of the San Lorenzo River, 10 beautiful stained glass windows, "all works of art," and a huge fireplace made of redwood in the parlour. The attic was so large, the owner let her grandchildren ride bicycles there in bad weather.

Before the economy crashed, the city approved several hotel projects, which have been stalled by lack of financing. Since then, accommodations have rebounded.

With 3,647 hotel and motel rooms, Santa Cruz County saw 63 percent occupancy for the first 10 months of 2012, the same as in 2007 during the boom, according to Smith Travel Research. The average daily room rate in 2012 was $126 vs. $123 in 2008.

Patel, who is president of the Santa Cruz Lodging Association, bought 611 Third St. for $1 million in November. He proposes to rehab the exterior and combine the lot with the adjacent one at 512 Leibrandt Ave., next to the Knights Inn, which he owns, to provide the 13 parking spaces required.

The rehab would include new paint (currently pale green with olive trim), replacement of the roof, windows, walkways and landscaping, and installation of four new roof windows and an emergency exit. The stained glass windows would be repaired and reset.

The perimeter fence and retaining wall would be replaced, and staff recommends a 3.5-foot ornamental metal screening fence be set atop the retaining wall on Leibrandt Avenue "to protect the visual quality of the historic site," and matching an ornamental metal fence planned around the perimeter.

A new entrance would be created in the rear with a new decorative wood door and wheelchair lift.

The proposal calls for three suites on the first floor, five on the second floor and four in the attic, similar in concept to the historic Lynch House at 174 W. Cliff Drive, according to planners.

Staff recommend archaeological testing as dish fragments and bottle glass were seen during a site visit.